Ceres High’s varsity boys basketball team had its homecoming spoiled by Lathrop on Jan. 18.
The Bulldogs did the same thing to Grace Davis this past week.
Ceres High rolled to a 64-37 win over the host Spartans in front of a large crowd Friday night in Modesto.
“It’s always great in any sport to play in that type of environment,” Bulldogs senior guard Brock DeWitt said. “It makes you play even harder. You’re trying to prove people wrong.”
The fifth-place Bulldogs (10-12) improved to 3-7 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The last-place Spartans (3-19) dropped to 1-9 in the WAC standings.
“We’d like to have a few more wins under our belt. But it is what it is. We can’t think about the past."Brock DeWitt
“Going into the season, we had high expectations,” DeWitt said. “We’d like to have a few more wins under our belt. But it is what it is. We can’t think about the past. For us seniors, the countdown is here. There are two weeks left. We want to play our best.”
DeWitt drained four treys en route to totaling 12 points.
He blocked one shot as well.
Elijah Hughes tallied 21 points, six rebounds, three blocks and one steal.
Verlis Smith had 12 points and two rebounds.
Josh Pernetti had seven points and 10 rebounds.
Derrick O’Neal had six points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Christian Murry had four points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Brock Moore had two points, one rebound and one steal.
Enrique Granados had two points and one rebounds.
Ceres High didn’t underestimate Grace Davis.
“Our coach preached all week don’t look at their record,” DeWitt said. “It’s their homecoming. It could have gone either way. We wanted it more.”
Ceres High shot 47 percent from the field (27 of 57), 31 percent (4 of 13) from 3-point range and 55 percent (6 of 11) from the free-throw line.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over just 13 times.
Ceres High outscored Grace Davis 21-5 in the momentum-seizing second quarter on its way to building a 29-11 lead in the opening half.
“It was very competitive in the first quarter,” DeWitt said. “Once our defense stepped up, that got our offense rolling, and we played good both ways.”
Beyer 77, CHS 47
Ceres High compiled an 0-2 record versus Beyer this season.
The Bulldogs lost the second meeting, 77-47, to the second-place Patriots on Jan. 23.
“They’re a great team,” DeWitt said. “They play hard.”
Hughes led Ceres High with 15 points, seven rebounds and one assist.
Smith had 10 points, three rebounds and one steal.
Murry had eight points, five assists and four rebounds.
O’Neal had eight points, three assists and two rebounds.
The Patriots (17-7, 9-1) routed the Bulldogs 79-24 on Dec. 19 in Modesto.
Ceres High has four games remaining on its schedule.
The Bulldogs will play host to Pacheco today and Grace Davis on Friday.
Both games will begin at 7:15 p.m.
